1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hydrokinetic lockup torque converter and to the lockup clutch associated therewith.
2. Background Information
Such a torque converter is disclosed, for example, in German Laid Open Patent Application No. 3 823 210, and its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,988 to Kundermann on May 22, 1990, entitled "Hydrodynamic Clutch". In this torque converter, the piston of the bridging or lockup clutch can be mounted tightly on the converter housing, or on the hub fastened rigidly to the converter housing. However, the piston can be mounted so that it can move axially, whereby the piston's non-rotating attachment to the converter housing can be accomplished by means of a carrier plate or hub disc. The carrier plate or hub disc can be located between the piston and the converter housing, and the carrier plate or hub disc can be connected to the piston by means of tangential leaf springs. The carrier plate or hub disc can be guided in a non-rotating manner by means of gear teeth. These gear teeth can preferably be disposed on the inside diameter of the carrier plate or hub disc, and can engage with external teeth on the hub. With this design, during idling of the internal combustion engine, and when the bridging or lockup clutch is open, rattling noises can be generated by the uneven running of the internal combustion engine, since the piston and the carrier plate or hub disc are preferably not linked to the converter housing with little or no play.